United Nations

Author Describes Impunity of UN Peacekeepers in Haiti

December 07, 2017

Author Edwidge Danticat writes in The New Yorker about the experience of Haitians with the impunity of UN peacekeeping forces that reportedly committed rape and murder in his country, as well as infecting its people with a cholera epidemic caused by contaminated water, under the flag of promoting "a secure and stable environment."
CoE Pushes UN Agenda on Human Rights Education

December 07, 2017

In an October update, the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) highlights a Council of Europe (CoE) report finding the need for more consistent implementation of "democratic citizenship and human rights education" across all European countries.
UN Observer Critiques French Disability Rights Policies

December 07, 2017

UN Special Rapporteur Catalina Devandas has warned France that it must close all "residential institutions" for persons with disabilities and move to "community-based services" to comply with its international human rights obligations requiring "the full inclusion of all people with disabilities in society."
UN Agent: "Torture" Includes Arbitrary Force by Police

December 07, 2017

In a recent report to the UN General Assembly, UN Special Rapporteur on torture Nils Melzer asserted that governments' international human rights obligations against "torture" are triggered by any "unnecessary, excessive or otherwise arbitrary use of force by law enforcement officials," whether inside or outside of prison.
EU Council Celebrates Boost in "Climate Finance"

December 07, 2017

The Council of the EU recently announced that EU contributions to "climate finance" in the form of funding to projects in developing countries aimed at limiting the impacts of climate change in line with the UN's Paris climate deal reached €20.2 billion in the year 2016.
US Withdraws from Development of UN Migration Pact

December 06, 2017

AFP reports that the US Mission to the UN has declared that it will no longer participate in the multilateral process of developing a Global Compact on Migration at the international organization, explaining that "Americans alone" must be in charge of US immigration policy and border control.
NGOs Criticize Congo's Election to UNHRC

December 06, 2017

Deutsche Welle reports that the recent election of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has sparked a major outcry among civil society groups that have condemned the DRC government as a serial human rights violator.
UN Agent Praises End of South Sudan Sanctions

December 06, 2017

UN Special Rapporteur Idriss Jazairy recently praised a decision by the US government to lift sanctions on South Sudan, indicating that the sanctions' "major effect on vulnerable population groups" had constituted a violation of economic and social human rights.
UN Observers: Death Penalty Is Prohibited Discrimination

December 05, 2017

A group of UN human rights mandate holders has condemned the death penalty, due to their view that it is "a penalty reserved for people from lower socio-economic groups," as a class-based form of discrimination and therefore an "arbitrary killing" in violation of international human rights law.
WHO Publishes Guidelines on Preventing Obesity

December 05, 2017

Reflecting the growing focus at the UN agency on noncommunicable diseases, the World Health Organization (WHO) published in October a set of "obesity guidelines" that describe how "trained professionals" can promote healthy diets and physical activity among children to prevent obesity.